CAN BARIATRIC ("LAP BAND") SURGERY CURE TYPE 2 DIABETES?

Bariatric surgery involves sectioning off a small pouch of the patient's stomach and attaching it to the intestine. Although the goal is weight loss, surgeons have discovered another exciting effect: the patient's type 2 diabetes is cured!

Dr. Michel M. Murr, who's director of bariatric surgery at Tampa General Hospital, notes that as many as 90 percent of diabetics experience remission after undergoing bariatric surgery. Dr. Murr, pictured here, reports that "There's a function of the stomach that we don't understand very well, but as soon as we divert food away from it, the diabetics control their blood sugar much, much easier."

Currently, bariatric surgery is available only for people who are extremely obese, but doctors believe it could reverse type 2 diabetes, even for people who aren't overweight.